A paraglider vacationing in Switzerland crashed his parachute face-first into a cliff before he managed to safely land on the ground with minor injuries, according to a video posted Friday.
Greg Overton, of Tacoma, Washington, had been paragliding through Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, on July 10 when the left wing of his chute collapsed, the Daily Mail reported.
A video of the crash showed his malfunctioning parachute flying out of control towards a cliff on the left within the Swiss Alps.
Because the parachute had been careening out of control, Overton was not able to right his path until he crashed face-first into the cliff. His parachute flipped and dragged against the rocky cliff.
Five minutes later, Overton miraculously turned over his parachute and made it to the ground safely without sustaining serious injuries.
Overton said that he was able to pack up his things, walk 5km to a nearby train station, and travel to Interlaken before getting checked out at a nearby hospital.
He fractured his L1 vertebra but was still able to walk, and suffered lacerations and bruises on his left side and the backs of his heels.
His parachute and gear took the brunt of the damage, with most of the lines on the chute being cut completely. Overton’s helmet was also split in half.
Although Overton’s confidence was shattered after the accident, he took to the skies once more three days later.
“Flying again so soon was intense, but my assessment of my mental status made me think that if I didn’t find a nice easy sledder quickly, I would choose never to fly again,” Overton said.
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